Rental Assistance Program

The Rental Assistance Program helps people who are currently homeless but working full-time move from shelter into permanent housing by providing rent subsidies and case management.

More than a quarter of the 14,500 families living in homeless shelters have at least one person working full-time — and yet they still cannot afford the high cost of an apartment in New York City.

The Rental Assistance Program (RAP), established in 1987, provides rental subsidies — as well as budgeting and counseling support — to homeless individuals and families for up to two years so that they can transition into and independently maintain permanent affordable housing.

RAP clients pay a carefully budgeted amount of their monthly income toward rent, with the Coalition providing monthly rental subsidies of either $300 for single adults or $450 for families. Our case managers help clients find decent, livable apartments that they will be able to afford on their own once they graduate from the program.

During their two-year participation in RAP, clients meet monthly with our case managers to develop and implement strategies to increase their job skills, earning potential and ability to independently carry their rent payments after graduating from the program.

Intake for RAP is currently closed.

Rental Assistance Program Facts

RAP is able to provide subsidies and social services to 55 households at a time.

One year of RAP rental subsidies for a family of four costs about $5,400 — a small fraction of the $38,000 cost to taxpayers of keeping that family in a homeless shelter.

Cheat Sheet

Homelessness in NYC: The Facts

Tonight, over 62,000 New Yorkers will sleep in homeless shelters, the most since the Great Depression.

Roughly 75% of those in shelter are families, including more than 24,000 kids.